Without Understanding
In the soul & mind
So it is no surprise to find: without understanding
asunetos privative or neg. a + sunetos sagacious; to reason, understand, intelligent, this word means to understand how things work, orderly function, not of machines but in abstract: morally, ethically, government, family etc.
This word describes exactly what is going on in USA
Where our leaders –political, religious do not understand how things work—family; how perversion so adversely affects the soul.
With the negative alpha: non-intelligent; without understanding
We have seen this word in vs 21 foolish heart
Translated here: without understanding
Non-sagacious
Sagacious ‘keen & farsighted penetration & judgment & discernment, acute discernment” but here with neg. alpha:
Without insight or understanding
When you suppress God, & do not believe in Him, you lose ability to think in /realm of reality!
You are without insight, you are with out understanding--of reality
It means not to understand what is behind natural laws of life
Failure to understand of relationship & design.
Authority & respect of authority-designed for orderly function of society
Folly of leaders of society, failure to understand relationship of mankind & politics & economics
Sex: respect for design of difference in woman & difference it makes
Spiritually: so few understand the spiritual aspect of make up of man
& offer so many cheap substitutes!
The more you are without understanding the more you move to your own foolish thinking: (21)
Prov. 18:1 He who separates himself seeks his own desire,
He quarrels against all sound wisdom.
2 A fool does not delight in understanding,
But only in revealing his own mind.
On the other hand, the more you know Him, the more accurate your view of God is – the more clearly you will see the truth & the truth shall set you free!
Is it any wonder why the world is in the condition it is in, as more & more people reject the one true God, & believe in no God or in idolatrous gods like Alla, Buddah some mystical force etc.
When your thinking is from the realm of truth, your thinking is in the realm of reality
untrustworthy
KJ covenantbreakers NIV faithless
Asunqetos asunthetos alpha neg. not, without + Greek word –to consent, to make an agreement, or covenant, or contract breakers
Therefore KJ covenantbreakers
Paul uses this word to refer to the practice of these people who while they make contracts, treaties, covenants etc. they break them as fast as they make them.
In their thinking they are not bound by contracts they make
They are untrustworthy in business, or in marriage, or social agreements.
Our society is saturated with people not paying credit card bills, not honoring their word or contracts they make.
Again, characteristic of courts, divorces, law suits etc
People, always looking for a way out of a contract or marriage etc
Unloving
KJ without natural affection
NIV heartless
Astorgos astorgos neg. alpha + Greek word natural affection; family love; friendship love
It should not surprise us – that near the end of all these descriptions would be
The loss of the ability to love!
We have seen un-natural lust in lesbianism & homosexuality. But this is not love, this un-natural perversion is lust, but not love!
This has to be one of the most pitiful conditions in mankind:
Inability to love!
This is just one of the results of hating God & perversion!
This passage is not talking about Spiritual Love, a life without Sp. Love in bel. is described in
1 Cor. 13:1-3
This passage is talking about natural affection
Natural love between humans!
But these described here in Rom. 1:128-32 have so marred their soul, that they have lost the natural ability to love!
it is amazing how our society is being characterized by this problem…inability to love a great deal of lust, but breakdown in natural love –between family members etc.
Breakdown of the family!
Rejection of God, disobedient to parents,
& breakdown in marriages (divorce)
& so now: unloving, without natural affection
Breakdown in establishment of the family!
Unmerciful – without mercy
Mercy is a decision word, a legal word, a word used when a judge has to make a decision of punishment, or when we have to make a decision in regard to dealing with others in our lives.
As you move further & further from God, you move from mercy
When this happens to a believer, he moves from the grace of God. Fallen from grace
& he moves to Law, legalism, he moves further from mercy, from dealing with others in mercy!
Do not confuse mercy with not having any standards; not caring what a person does. This is not mercy! Not caring is not mercy
Not caring what people do is not mercy!
Fundamental to mercy is the knowing the difference between right & wrong!
This last description is fundamental to the Being of God
God is a merciful God
God is characterized by mercy
Jews—Ark of Covenant---Mercy Seat…
So they were constantly reminded of the Mercy of God
Mercy: unearned, undeserved forgiveness
There is a hidden message from God in this last characteristic:
They are unmerciful…
The hidden message is that since they did not show mercy, they will not receive mercy for all the things described in this passage!
Matt. 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
James 2:13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
We receive mercy at cross
We receive mercy at point of faith in Christ.
We receive mercy at Grace recovery faith in HS
Thank God for His Mercy!
32 and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
and, although they relative pronoun referring to all those described in the previous vss
know Aorist Active Participle: epiginwskw epi-ginosko to know fully; complete; full Knowledge; to understand something completely
The action of Aorist Participle precedes the action of the main verb; the main verb is in the last phrase but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
They know what God says about these things, & yet they encourage the doing of them.
Make no doubt that the Supreme Court Judges & lower court judges, and pastors know what God says about these things…like homosexuality & lesbianism, yet they pass laws to encourage this conduct – along with all these!
First they know the difference between right and wrong, then they encourage others to do wrong!
Now what is it exactly that they know very well?
and although they know
the ordinance of God,
Dikaiwma dikaioma from the root: Just, Righteous
KJ knowing the judgment of God,
NIV know God's righteous decree
The ordinance the judgment the Righteous decree
This one word is used just 10 x in NT
just in NASV it is translated in 5 different ways:
Luke 1:6 requirements of the Lord
Rom. 1:32 ordinance of God
2:26 requirements of the Law
5:16 justification
5:18 act of righteousness
8:4 requirement of the Law
Heb. 9:1 regulations of Divine worship
Rev. 15:4 & 19:8 righteous acts
Requirements, ordinance, justification, righteous acts, regulations
So what is it that they know?
And although they know the ordinance of God
Simplify: they know what God desires & does not desire
They know requirements of God;
They know the difference between right & wrong
An ordinance lays out what is required;
justification basis upon which God judges as to what is Righteous or not
righteous acts Acts that are befitting to what is right before God.
Regulations what God requires
This takes us back to 10 questions of Job.
This is takes us to the flow of the whole Bible.
The Greek word was used to refer to a legal document, corresponding to an ordinance, or requirement, & therefore used to determine whether one is just or not.
Judicially-“legal requirement of the Justice of God”
Of God God is the source of this known ordinance; He is the source of the ordinance, and He is the source of this knowledge being in human race.
When God created mankind, there are several things He placed naturally in our sub-conscious – ordinance of right & wrong is one of them,
His being is another!
So what is known by all?
We have seen that the being of God is known by all as told in creation: vss 19-20
So what is known here?
What Paul is speaking of is embedded in the human conscience!
As man rejects the being of God, or that God is in control, he will fight against the ordinance of God. But fight it as he will, it will remain in their souls, not just as idle knowledge but as epignosis making human beings moral creatures!
Therefore accountable for what they know in their souls!